What Is Health & Safety at the Workplace?

What Is Health & Safety at the Workplace?

Even with a proper diet and established exercise program, you might be neglecting critical health hazards that affect millions of Americans annually. Adults spend nearly one fourth of their total weekly hours at work, where injuries regularly occur. According to a 2008 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, 3.7 million work-related non-fatal injuries and illnesses occurred in private industry alone. Regulated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), health and safety in the workplace is a system requiring joint efforts of management and labor to prevent injury. But it's also a highly personal safety conscious attitude- knowing key elements and your part in the process can protect you on the job.

Functions of OSHA

OSHA create legislation that requires eligible employers to follow safety procedures as well as keep documentation, develop policies, and train workers for potentially hazardous work practices. Annual re-trainings are often a further requirement by law for most workplace situations. Employers must abide by both federal and state departments of OSHA. Twenty-six states have their own branches of OSHA and may apply more stringent standards than the federal codes. Enforcement and education departments of OSHA continually advance workplace health and safety through research, company inspections and monitoring the working environment.

Hazard Recognition

A vast portion of workplace safety and health is a proactive attitude on the part of employers and workers alike. Recognizing hazards by regular internal inspections, safety committee meetings and advanced education, such as attending voluntary federal 10 or 30 hour OSHA trainings, can aid in protecting workers. Employees play an important role in hazard recognition by reporting machine malfunctions and potentially dangerous incidents or behavior. To be most effective in workplace health and safety, employers should have a designated reporting system for these incidents, along with established protocol for insuring corrections are properly made.

Health Effects

Safety issues are often easy to spot. You can readily identify an employee driving a forklift unsafely. But health aspects in the workplace are often far more subtle and easily overlooked. Yet, 187,400 workplace illnesses were reported by private industry in 2008 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Environmental factors can cause many industrial illnesses, including deafness, asthma, heat stress or life threatening heat stroke, and repetitive motion disorders. Nearly all of these can be prevented with proper training, engineering controls, and awareness by employers and employees as part of a sound workplace health and safety program

Chemical Potential

With more than 650,000 hazardous chemicals identified by OSHA in the workplace, employee exposure is common. Even the most familiar chemicals can pose a serious danger to your health if used improperly. Take for instance, the May 2010 fatalities of Eric J. Dalton, a self-employed Indiana plumber and his 19-year-old assistant. Working in a confined space, Dalton collapsed while using muriatic acid- a very mainstream masonry cleaning product. Two volunteer firefighters were also overcome with fumes and hospitalized. The catastrophe may have been prevented if chemical safety procedures were followed. Always adhere to Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) proper chemical handling techniques as part of your workplace health and safety practice.

Emergency Situations

Although employers under OSHA are required to have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP), which includes drills for severe weather and evacuations, it still falls to the employee to follow established protocol. Make sure you know where to go in the event of severe weather or fire. If you travel for business, keep an eye on the weather and listen to local weather broadcasts. Be ready to seek shelter in a sturdy building, such as a rest area, local hospital or fire station if necessary. The National Weather Service recommends driving at right angles to the storm as you seek shelter.